Patheos

BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Patheos

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

switchingsides

religion

Select a Category biography Conversion Stories Deconversion Stories Historical Religious Figures Psychology Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2024 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022

October 2023

October 02, 2023

Reality Check: When Deconverts Feel the Sting of Discrimination

In 2020, the American Atheist Society [AAS] released the results of an online survey they...

May 2023

May 22, 2023

If Humans Have a Soul, Should Psychology be Focused on “Soul Care”?

Introduction Psychology, in terms of study and practice, began as a focused on a sort...

May 15, 2023

Five Paths to Reconcile Christianity and Psychology

In a previous article, I explained the long history of conflict that had existed between...

May 08, 2023

What Deconversion Researchers Do and Do not Know

A Rise in Atheism In the year 2000, atheism was a social curiosity in America....

May 01, 2023

Tales of Deconversion: The Crisis of a Preacher’s Wife

Currently, Cassidy McGillicuddy is a Patheos blogger who writes on the topics of video games,...

April 2023

April 24, 2023

Tales of Deconversion: The Monk Who Became an Atheist

Joseph McCabe is a man who vies for a place as perhaps the most eloquent...

April 03, 2023

Philosophy and Deconversion Research

Readers of this column will be aware that I am a researcher specializing on the...

March 2023

March 27, 2023

The Religious and Atheist Experience in Autism Spectrum Disorder

“’Imagine what it's like. A person smiles at you—you're confused because you don't understand a...

March 20, 2023

Psychology and Religious Deconversion: What we Know so far

The Beginning of High Profile Deconversion In modern times, the first high-profile Christians to make...

March 13, 2023

Lone Christians: People who Exit the Church but not the Faith

Today, nearly half of America is unchurched. But even though more and more Americans are abandoning...

March 06, 2023

What Happens in the Brain When Beliefs Change?

Since the challenging and changing of beliefs is integral to the study of conversion and...

February 2023

February 27, 2023

Leftward Drift: Why Deconverts Begin at the Religious Right and Migrate to the Atheist Left

  In 2009, during the height of the “New Atheism” trend, but a comfortable distance...

February 20, 2023

Rapture Anxiety and Deconversion

A significant portion of my initial investigation into deconversion involved listening to interviews and reading...

February 16, 2023

The Asbury Revival and Religious Intensification Phenomenon

On February 8th, of 2023, a group of students at Asbury University, a private Christian...

February 13, 2023

“Stages of Faith,” What can 50-Year-Old Research Tell Us About Conversion and Deconversion?

Stages of Faith is a 1981 book by psychologist James Fowler wherein he lays out...

February 06, 2023

The son of a Famous Evangelist who Became a Convinced Atheist

As a column that discusses the process of religious conversion and deconversion, this space will...

January 2023

January 30, 2023

Research into Religious Deconversion Flourishes in the Post Christian West

A Brief History of Conversion Research Ever since William James’ landmark study, A Variety of...

January 23, 2023

The Boy Preacher who Became an Adult Atheist Advocate: Anthony Pinn

As a column that discusses the process of religious conversion and deconversion, this space will...

January 16, 2023

What the Book “How Minds Change” Tells us About Deconversion

How Minds Change is a book by David McRaney in which the author, a science...

January 09, 2023

Deconversion and “Cuss-Words”

Thirty or forty years ago, investigating the phenomenon of religious deconversion would have been a...

January 02, 2023

Brian McLaren and Faith After Doubt

The book "Faith After Doubt" was authored by Brian McLaren, and released in the year...

December 2022

December 26, 2022

The History of Christianity’s Feud with Psychology

Introduction  It is no surprise to science that there exists a tension or distrust between...

December 19, 2022

Magnets, the Human Brain, and God

The Brain Damage You have no doubt heard it said that we still have much...

December 12, 2022

Deconversion and “Selective Perception”

In 2019, researchers Perez and Vallieres conducted an in-depth study on the subject of deconversion....

December 05, 2022

Deconversion and “Religious Trauma Syndrome”

WHAT IS RELIGIOUS TRAUMA SYNDROME? There is a phenomenon known as "Religious Trauma Syndrome" (RTS)...

December 02, 2022

Study: Could Religious People Be More Complex Thinkers Than Irreligious People

Testing Thought Complexity It's a fairly common trope: religious people are knuckle-dragging uneducated troglodytes more...

November 2022

November 29, 2022

Cameron Bertuzzi and Interfaith Conversion

Cameron Bertuzzi is an influential speaker and media producer in the popular field of Christian...

November 28, 2022

“A Manual for Making Atheists”: an Imperfect Book but an Effective Movement

Peter Boghossian is a philosopher and college professor who is responsible for inventing the practice...

November 21, 2022

Ridicule and Deconversion

In his March 24th talk at the 2012 Reason Rally, popular atheist speaker Richard Dawkins...

November 07, 2022

Applying Behavior Analysis to Deconversion

Sometimes we want to know why people do the things they do. In my field...

Related posts from Switching Sides

General Christian

Complex Simplicity - A Book Review

Switching Sides

General Christian

Deconversion in the Ancient World: The Research

Switching Sides

General Christian

Conversion, Deconversion, and Initiation Ceremonies

Switching Sides

General Christian

Introducing Atheist Arguments to New Eyes: The Research

Switching Sides

Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube